Wii U: 7 Reasons It’s Already Won The Next-Gen Battle

It’s hard to imagine it’s been 6 years since the Wii was launched. Many wrote it off, calling it technically underpowered and claiming a gimmick such as motion control would not sell consoles in the current age of high definition. Nintendo’s little white box went on to sell 96 million units worldwide and in the process, opened up gaming to a brand new audience. After an underwhelming E3, Nintendo are ready to take the gaming world by storm and prove that lightning really can strike twice.

[ape007]

wiiu is gonna be cool and everything BUT I do not consider it a true next gen system, more like an improved xbox360\ps3 from what I've seen so far, nothing on it's launch is as groundbreaking as Resistence 1 or perfect dark zero(graphics wise) Ghost recon advanced war fighter 1, Motorstorm 1 or CoD2 back in 2005 and 2006 with all honesty

[Gazondaily]

This is all just conjecture obviously- we haven't got the slightest clue about what Sony and MS have up their sleeves.

Why are all of whatculture's articles, lists? I know its primarily done for hits but it really is annoying not having an option where you can see everything on one page.

[darthv72]

i can only assume people dont really know how these generations are defined. Some base them off the technical specs. I would choose to base them on the comparative of a previous system.

With that in mind, this is Nintendo's 6th console release. As such it surpasses their previous wii by a significant margin. That alone places it into the category of next gen.

I am not going to say this system won or that system won. To be honest, if you love to play games then the real winner is the gamer.

[sikbeta]

@ape007

It doesn't depend on anyone but those who will make games for it, IF it sells like the wii and by being and HD system it has the chance of getting all third parties on board, becoming the defacto HW for developers and leaving XBX3+PS4 with ports.

I doubt it'll happen because MS has all the Third Party Devs in the pocket with their systems being pretty straight forward and easier to develop for, something that help devs alot, but the possibility for the wii-u exist

[blitz0623]

Again, what is it with these "true next gen" statements? The Wii U is next gen because it succeeds the Wii, period.

In regards to the article, it's still premature to be saying the Wii U already won, especially given those 7 reasons.

[jsslifelike]

What the eff? 1 reason on each page just to get more hits? Save your clicks folks...

[AsimLeonheart]

Man, what is up with all these Nintendo fans??? They are getting over-excited just over 2GB RAM. What about the CPU and GPU?? If Nintendo is hiding the specs then there is something they are ashamed and afraid of disclosing. If they were truly next-generation then they would announce the specs proudly. Oh and please do not claim WiiU next-generation just because it is the successor to Wii. Enough with the semantics. It is an established fact what the word next-generation means in the console gaming world and that is a significant jump in hardware specifications and performance. The Nintendo Wii only sold because of the gimmick and the fad. Look at it now once the fad is over and bubble has burst. Millions of Wiis are collecting dust under the sofas, tables and beds. On the other hand look at PS360 selling perfectly with AAA games still arriving on the system. Besides the soccer moms, girls and grannies are not going to upgrade to WiiU because they are not interested in playing Mass Effect, COD and Batman in 1080p or 60fps so the sales aren't going to be similar to Wii. Nintendo fooled the world once but it will not work twice.

[darthv72]

"Oh and please do not claim WiiU next-generation just because it is the successor to Wii. Enough with the semantics. It is an established fact what the word next-generation means in the console gaming world and that is a significant jump in hardware specifications and performance"

So you don't think the wii-u is a "significant jump in hardware specification and performance"? Im sorry but next gen can mean exactly that. It is the next generation of (insert platform here).

Now Im not going to ask how long you have been gaming but the "generations" were not specific to years or decades but to the hardware cycles of the companies releasing them.

Some had minor improvements and others had major improvements. Yet somewhere down the line, a group of gamers decided to create an association of when a platform was (new enough for them) deemed 'next-gen' in relation to whatever platforms were out at the time.

That is where it gets all screwed up. They tried to associate them in bits (8bit, 16bit, 32bit...). We had overlapping 'bits', 32bit at same time as 16bit and 64 and 128 and...you get the idea.

The term next generation (in regards to a game console) is determined to the relation of the previous product. So to be more specific. We are on the 5th generation of nintendo hardware approaching the 6th. Sony is on their 3rd. MS their 2nd. both of which will likely release 'next-gen' systems soon enough.

You can define it how you like but those of us who have been gaming for over 30+ years know how its laid out.

[Perjoss]

Don't underestimate the head start!

MS managed to keep up with Sony with a broken console that Japan wasn't even interested in. I think the 1 year head start helped a lot.

[neogeo]

+ bub for understanding the world:)

[AIndoria]

I lol'ed at the "Broken console" part but fair enough sir. Bubble to you.

[Neonridr]

lol - you think Perfect Dark Zero is groundbreaking? Wow.. Personally if the console on launch day can put out a game that runs 1080p/60 frames per second, then that is a huge accomplishment for a system that devs are barely scraping the surface on. If you compare launch games from the PS360 to games they are putting out now, they are night and day different in terms of visual quality and overall scope. Imagine what developers could do in 2-3 years time once they fully learn how to utilize the Wii U's architecture. But if it's doing now what the 360 and PS3 took 6 years to do, then that's not too shabby at all.

[Imalwaysright]

When Perfect Dark was released it was a graphical powerhouse and one of the best looking games in the industry. I have yet to see something from the Wii U that makes me say "next gen is here". Not saying that the Wii U isnt capable of producing that level of graphical fidelity but so far nothing on it looks leaps and bounds better than what PS360 can produce.

[ape007]

The game was nothing compared to the legendary N64 title, how ever I was amazed when I saw it's gfx back then

[Theyellowflash30]

ape007 what are you talking about?
- Resistence 1 and Perfect Dark Zero were ground breaking graphics wise?

What are you smoking. Black on the Xbox 1 almost looked as good as those games. COD 2 did not look ground breaking.

I thought God of War 2 and Resident Evil 4 looked better than many launch 360 games. Wii U can run games like Assassin's Creed 3, ZombiU, Mass Effect 3, Darksiders 2, ect at the beginning of its lifecycle, no doubt games will look better and better as the generation goes on.

Not to mention system power has nothing to do with who wins the console race. PS1, PS2, and Wii are perfrect examples of that.

[Thatguy-310]

Thats dumb. How can you declare one console already the winner when 1. It hasn't released 2. The competition hasn't announced their new console. Let's just wait and see.

[kneon]

Not only that but at least a couple of their reasons are just wrong and some are subjective, some are just temporary and some are yet to be proven.

[neogeo]

Have you ever thought that when the PS4/720 are announced that maybe Nintendo will also announce ANOTHER system to match? That would be a double KO. Get 96 million with the original Wii then get another quick 50 million or more with WiiU and when the next systems are announced they are ready to do it again!

[aquamala]

I guarantee you we'll have PS4 launch games that don't look as good as the best looking PS3 games.

[JoNaZ_RG]

I'm going to go STRAIGHT UP TO THE POINT. When the Xbox 360 came out, there was already games taking advantage of what the next gen games would look like, and they were on PC. Games like CoD2 that was a PC game is one great example. It was a game that could not look or run on PS2, Xbox1, and GCN. Now at this moment there is not a single game available on PC that we could say that won't be able to run on PS3 o Xbox 360 because they sure can run even if it is at 720p and a lower resolution but the difference wouldn't be so big, like Call of Duty 2 was compared to what the Xbox1 and PS2 were able to run. For that reason I am not getting Wii U on the release date and will wait because I want to see that particular next gen looking game to hit the PC world, so then developers can say that it will not be able to run on Wii U. SO PLEASE PPL SHUP UP WITH SAYING THAT WII U IS NOT REAL NEXT GEN AND WAIT UNTIL THAT NEXT GEN GAME COMES OUT SO WE CAN JUDGE, THANK YOU.

-PLATANO WORDS

[starchild]

COD2 could have run on the Xbox or PS2, it just wouldn't have looked as good. COD2 doesn't look anywhere near as good as games we are getting on consoles now.

Now we have games like the Witcher 2 on PC that looks much better than any console game, but it can run on the Xbox...only with reduced graphics. The PC version has much better textures, more advanced lighting, higher polygon models, better shadow quality and quantity, less pop-in, less aliasing, and runs at higher resolutions and framerates.

There are quite a few games on PC that can't run on consoles without massive downgrades.

[SegataShanshiro]

Se ve que te gusta el Platano

[JoNaZ_RG]

@starchild, come on, the Witcher 2 is just a game that looks good this gen not something we can call Next Gen. You don't seem to understand my point. Call of Duty 2 on PC and Xbox 360 looked like a huge leap from the Call of Duty 2 spin-off on PS2 and xbox1. For that reason I don't think there is even a next gen engine that is being used at the moment that would show a huge leap from what we are used to right now.

@Andree1991, obviamente porque soy Dominicano. Que bobo!

[ninjabake]

You thought Resistance and Perfect dark were groundbreaking? Hmm OK... well tell me that its leaps and bounds better looking than this original Xbox game (chronicles of riddick)

http://m.youtube.com/watch?...

[ape007]

xbox 1 was truly amazing, i loved it so much, not only riddick but doom 3, chaos theory, HL2, NGB were amazing, they were truly ahead of their time graphically, xbox 1 was an exception, few games reached that hight graphically at that time, im talking about the other 97% of games compared to those 360 games

[showtimefolks]

Ape007 don't say that because Nintendo fanboys this is true next gen and will be epic lol

Anyone with little common sense knows both Sony and ms will beat wiiu tech wise within 1-2 years. But the reason one should be excited about wiiu is because for the first time we play Nintendo 1st party exclusives in HD. Look I am not sure if wiiu is next gen or not that's personal opinion more than anything else.

Wii was last gen so now wiiu is joining xbox360 and ps3 in this gen and I don't now what's truely next gen when considering 2 consoles this gen were in HD so not sure what is so next gen. Ps2 to ps3 I understand but ps3 to ps4 or xbox360 to xbox720 is just new systems more than next gen

Also what's up with 7 reasons or 5 reasons articles? 5 reason why ps3 is the last Sony console. 5 reason why Sony will fail. 5 reasons why Sony failure this gen

Let it go people let it go

Enjoy games whether it's on of wiiu or any other

[Soplox]

As already said countless of times. Next Gen's Graphics wont be a big jump like it was from PS2/XBOX to PS3/360. Wii U will do fine.

[ape007]

maybe that's true

[dantesparda]

"Wii U: 7 Reasons It’s Already Won The Next-Gen Battle"

Reason 1. Because i think and believe this sh!t

Reason 2. Because i think and believe this sh!t

Reason 3. Because i think and believe this sh!t

Reason 4. Because i think and believe this sh!t

Reason 5. Because i think and believe this sh!t

Reason 6. Because i think and believe this sh!t

Reason 7. Because i think and believe this sh!t

This is what the writer of this article thinks

Im sorry but WiiU fanboys are even more delusional than PS3/360 fanboys. You's talk a big game. But seriously, the WiiU looks like another Wii situation to me. A console that will be underpowered in comparison to the competition. i like how Wii fanboys pump their chests at the fact that the WiiU has graphics comparable to this current gen's HD consoles. its pathetic really, but i guess thats what they have to do to make themselves feel better. Heck, you even have a bunch of develoers telling you its got serious weaknesses and deficiencies in comparison to current gen. And still Wii fanboys try and act tough. Fanboys will never get sh!t!

[Knight_Crawler]

"more like an improved xbox360\ps3 from what I've seen so far"so if its better than the current ge does'nt that mean that its the nex gen?

Plus how do you know that MS or Sony will go full specs next gen? Times are hard and both Sony and MS learned from the PS3 launch - both MS and Sony will probably bring out a next gen console that is a little bit more poweful than the Wii U...but we will have to wait and see.

[ConstipatedGorilla]

You thought Resistance 1 and Perfect Dark Zero were groundbreaking? That's hilarious.

[Carl_Shocker]

To say it's won without seeing the competition is just plain silly

[iamnsuperman]

I agree. Also a couple of these reasons are questionable especailly considering we have no idea what the other systems wil be like

[Carl_Shocker]

Exactly

If the PS4/720 is a good enough leap (maybe not the kind of leap we had to this gen but still good enough) and are strong, powerful machines which make the Wii U look like what the Wii was to the PS3/360 then I'm sorry but excluding sales (whatever they may be) the Wii U won't be a winner in my eyes.

BUT

If the PS4/720 dosen't look or feel that much differn't from the PS3/360 then I would glady accept the Wii U as a next gen console, not a HD Wii which what really should of came out in 2006 and other people will as well.

It all depends what will happen next E3 when the other two consoles are shown off

It's the reason why I'm waiting untill June next year to get a Wii U, after E3, because I'm pretty sure the PS4 and the 720 will be shown off. Plus by that time the Wii U will be cheaper and I'll have a wider vairety of games to choose from....Win/Win.

[JoNaZ_RG]

Danm imnsuperman, you hit the point. If we don't know how those next gen game would look like and there is no single game on PC that would show the future, why should we judge the Wii U. Remember how the DreamCast was, at the beginning it had game that looked like Nintendo 64 ones with a little higher resolution, but I couldn't tell the difference.

[ajax17]

Way off-topic, but from what cartoon is your avatar from?! That is going to drive me insane if I don't know!

[Carl_Shocker]

Johnny Bravo...the geeky guy from next door who even though Johnny calls all the time is classes as Johnnys best friend

He has two last names one being the one I have and then the other being Carl Chryniszzswics...but for logging into this site I chose the easiest one :)

[rainslacker]

It may have won the battle...but has it already won the war? /sarcasm

[GhostHero333]

It may have won the battle..... but the war hasn't even started yet.

[Knight_Crawler]

What war are we talking about here? The Wii U will be miles ahead the PS4 adn 720 in terms of sales and games by time the both release.

[Lvl_up_gamer]

I remember when the Wii was announced and EVERYONE was saying Nintendo are out of their minds. Now look at them. Now we have articles like this saying how Nintendo have won next gen....

Bottom line, you can't predict the market, you can only analyze it, measure it and make logical predictions based on current trends and numbers. This article just skips all that and jumps right to a speculated conclusion without even seeing what the competition is bringing.

Very premature if you ask me.

[chukamachine]

Good post!

I think WII u will sell 40million.

Based on the fact that millions of customers are casuals and casuals wanted the Wii because of cheap price and family fun. I don't see that with the Wii u.

Most people i've spoken to don't like the new controller either. But as me and many others haven't tried it, who knows.

I would prefer one console system.

NINTSOFTSONY

One console, One set of topend hardware, All the games that everyone would want. One price.

From Mario,Halo,Uncharted and all the rest.

[metroid32]

Try 150 million in 6 years remember i told u this.

[Moonman]

I don't think he doesn't consider the competition. Just is saying that regardless of the competition, WiiU will have a good momentum that will keep them ahead because of these factors.

[Dark_Overlord]

Agree with all except points:

7 - Its not really geared towards the casuals this time, price and launch line up suggest core gamers, whereas the wii had wii sports and advertised to families at a cheap price

2 - Hardly seen anything about it, and until it releases it has a lot to prove.

1 - Totally subjective.

[LX-General-Kaos]

This article seems very well written and holds a lot of truth.

I firmly believe that the Nintendo Wii U entertainment system will set the new standard in how games are experiences in the eyes of the consumer. With the technical advantage given by the tablet control functions, and next generation graphical power that will be explored in the coming years.

With the Nintendo Wii U entertainment system launching on schedule to kick off the next generation of Elite gaming. Giving Nintendo a significant advantage as far as install base goes. Making the Nintendo Wii U entertainment system the number one choice for 3rd party exclusive offerings. While most multiplatform titles will also be built with the Nintendo Wii U entertainment system as their standard at first. Taking full advantage of its feature rich setup. Then ported over to other console offerings.

I predict that Nintendo is on course for a repeat victory next generation. But only time will tell.

Rated E For Everyone

[Studio-YaMi]

-_- I bet you're Reggie,have nothing better to do than spam PR bull on N4G,huh ?

[LX-General-Kaos]

Yet you are here with me so that makes us twins.

But I do appreciate your intelligent insight toward the topic at hand. And I also hope that you too enjoy the feature rich capability of your future purchased Nintendo Wii U entertainment system unit.

Rated E For Everyone

[MNGamer-N]

Nintendo Wii U entertainment system! the NWUES!

[LX-General-Kaos]

I think you are onto something!

[ziggurcat]

since the wii U is technically current gen, i don't see how it's going to "win" the next gen.

[josephayal]

I think the power of Wii U will compete just fine with next gen consoles PS4/XBOX 720

[Ben_Grimm]

The WiiU is going to be a great system and hopefully return Nintendo to their glory SNES days.

All i need from them is a damn good Mario Kart and Starfox and i'm sure everything else will fall into place.

Definite day 1 purchase .... ok maybe month 3 purchase ;)

[NeoTribe]

Umm no. Just no.

[Conzul]

Yeah, WiiU isn't next-gen, it's +.5 gen.

[telekineticmantis]

The price part I agree with though.

[YoungPlex]

Flame-bait all the way, I swear these articles are meant to provoke and rattle the hornets nest! Oh well... Speaking as a gamer I will eventually get all 3 again, it's just a matter of when and why.

Wii U will offer me tons of quality first-party titles, regardless of third-party. But if things keep looking up for Nintendo, and they're able to keep developing partnerships (such as with Platinum), gaining exclusive rights to these third-party titles, they very-well may be able to keep hold of some key franchises; forcing gamers and other interested people in purchasing a Wii U. Smart Strategy!

I'm sure PS4 will be my next console to pick up, I just don't know what its bringing to the table just yet. The same thing goes with Xbox, not 100% on which I will get first, nevertheless I'm sure that I'll eventually dig deep into my pockets and get both. For now Wii U will be mine launch-day for me and my son...

Hopefully everyone can enjoy gaming to the fullest extent and stop this ridiculous bickering about "Which console will win, or which is best", they all have their respective pros and cons. Anyone who disagrees is entitled to do so, but your only cheating yourself out of games in the end. I for one, will not be a troll and pledge allegiance to one company, limiting myself to one gaming console.

[DivineAssault]

Once the 3rd party core games start flowing in, i have no doubt itl be better than PS3.. I dont think itl reach it in sales or value but the games will be better when & if they decide to come over.. So far theres nothing in sight except Batonetta 2.. They better hurry up & get devs to work cuz PS4 already has games in development & theyll destroy anything wii u is capable of..

[Seraphemz]

N4G has gone to shit, its not even worth coming on this site anymore. All you see are these POS articles about "Top 5 this" or "X reason this will be awesome/suck" and this dumb ass article. Really... 7 reason why WiiU won next gen??? are we even there yet??

WiiU is recycling old games, ME3...played it, Batman AC...yup did that one too. How about Mario, Wario and all the other rehashes that Nintendo always crap out...and these dumbasses consider that a "win"?

And I didnt even bother to click on the link, these dumbasses love to put 7 little reasons, on 7 different pages.

F this... im done here.

[PopRocks359]

I'm guessing this article struck a nerve? And to answer your question the next generation begins with Wii U since it comes a generation after the Wii, 360 and PS3. Shocking I know.

[Seraphemz]

I assumed that "NEXT GEN" would mean that it would be...oh I dont, NEXT GEN graphics maybe??

An upgrade from the graphics that Wii had isnt saying much. Especially when its trying to push games that have already been out for more than 2 years as NEW.... shocking... i know.

Oh and the WiiU isnt a gen AFTER the 360 or PS3...it caught up.

[PopRocks359]

It is a gen after when it's more powerful with four times the RAM.

[OmniSlashPT]

PS3 is now almost 6 years in the market, it sells the most WW, best exclusives, wide variety of titles, new hardware upgrade, new IP's and exclusives do be released soon = FAIL, dead, doomed

Wii U, hasn't been released yet, launch titles include games that came out like and year ago and games such as AC3 and ME3 which make no sense without playing the originals, more Mario, ZombiU and some more Mario = WIN, best console ever, completely destroys the PS4 and the X720 eventhough they don't exist yet

lmao

[Seraphemz]

EXACTLY !!!!!!!!!!

[maniacmayhem]

What you guys are missing is that all these PS3 doom articles are mostly from opinionated blog sites that are copying , pasting and repeating from one or two sources. They are doing this for hits because they know fans and fanboys will get riled up and they’ll get hits. It’s being completely blown out of proportion only because of the articles being approved by this site that state the exact same thing.

There has been just as many WiiU is doomed or PS3/Vita does the same thing WiiU can on this site. There has also been Ps3/WiiU is great articles but you'll notice that those, especially the WiiU one gets no action from the members here.

Why? Because we love drama, it's more exciting for us to come into a heated article and debate, scram and argue than to actually be happy, compliment and be satisfied. This is what the internet has produced a place where people can be angry anonymously and in safety.

[FanMan]

well if its going to win, its not gonna be helped by me. i dont plan on buying one. at least not in the near future.

[Pandamobile]

I don't even consider it "next-gen".

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

doesn't it have a dx10 card? lame.

[StraightedgeSES]

The other 2 wasn't announced yet, so how can you say Wii U already won next gen?

[GhostHero333]

if it had the following games:
-Call of duty every year
- Battlefield every year
- All big sports titles
- A legit pokemon game
- Zelda
- Metroid
- Smash Bros
- all big multiplatform games

then i would say that is a good start for them. Oh and the online has to be just as good as xbox live.

[IGW_Fobia]

Isn't a little too early to say which console has won next-gen as it still hasn't even started?

Can you already say which MLB team won next year's World Series?

Stop making such a big claim when we still have no idea what 2/3 of the console makers are going to do yet for their next systems.

Until someone shows me proof that they can predict the future 100% of the time - these articles will always and forever, be pointless.

[Phoenix76]

Isn't a little too early to say which console has won next-gen as it still hasn't even started?

Was going to say excatly the same, dam you for beating me to it lol

[Benjamminkno]

Nobody can "win" the console wars. If you're making a profit, you're winning. This is a funny article. They sure got some of you riled up.

[Slapshot82]

Yes, this article has some good and factual points, but I don't think you could ooze more fanboy (insert preferred liquid obscenity here) out of the back port of the inevitable PlayStation 5.

Oh, and what does the Wii U win? I've always wondered what exactly it is that these companies win? And do all three companies get the same thing for winning, because each fanboy site (basically) says the exact same thing about their preferred console?

[Gamer-Z]

Possibly, it all comes down to how big their install base will be and how much support the WiiU will receive from 3rd party developers when 720/PS4 are released and are on the market for a while.

[Nada Nuff]

Not only is the author making assumptions about the Wii U, he's also not considering that the other next-gen consoles can't enjoy the same advantages.

Wii U hasn't won the next gen battle--it hasn't even started. Get back to me in 6 years.

[konohashin]

I did not read 1 comment but let me summarize.

WiiU is shit thats the reason the world will end this year.

Pony Slaystation is much better it even lets you kill other horse like animals such as Zebras too.

Nintendo is shit it has no hardcore games and is for kids. Oh wait Nintendo is shit because it has hardcore games like Bayonetta2 now fUcK WiIu!!1!!11!

My parents are brother and sister.

Oh and before I forget it WiiU is NintendOOOOOOMED.

[MiyagiSPG]

I can understand the talk of the Wii U being "not next gen" but if you think that... then graphics must mean a big deal to you.

What gets the most praise on any given console? The games, graphics are always great but in the end its game play and Nintendo games have just that... so adding HD graphics = win to any gamer who loves to game.

[wastedcells]

Can you predict the lottery too?

[gamernova]

PC gaming already won. We have 4K capable graphics cards. Wii U can't touch 4K. Doubt the other systems can as well. Owned.

[CommonSense]

how stupid do you have to be to write an article like this?

or...how stupid do you have to be to take it seriously?

[Max-Zorin]

It's not good to jump to conclusions.

[DivineAssault]

It did win the next gen battle already.. The gold cup had nintendos name engraved in it since nx gen was even brought up.. While platinum was reserved for PS..

[CcreapMurda310]

How the hell do y'all know? Shit aint even out yet.

[mechlord]

You know the site is fishing for visitors from the title already. No serious journalist can come up with a title like that and expect to be taken seriously. No one learnt anything from Patcher??

[taquito]

ms and sony are being very foolish if they give nintendo more than 6 months, they need to announce new consoles now, everyone is going to buy a wiiu, myself included, just because they are sick of the sequels, remakes, poor framerates and poor graphics that current consoles offer

[Apex13]

I am a huge Nintendo fan as well as 360 and PS comes last but to say someone has won is stupid before you have seen the other offerings in the market.

This whole who wins or sold more things should not concern us as consumers as it's not a legion. These companies make stupid money regardless. lets just keep pushing forward and getting better games out of it.

[humb_lumi]

Poor article.

[GameLord08]

Unsure why everyone is making absurd claims on Wii U not being classified next-gen solely based on its first displayed graphics. Besides, Batman and Assassin's Creed were announced to be running in native 1080p, if I remember correctly, so surely this is a good sign for the console, however minor it is. And for a console to be able to display full high-definition images on the TV screen, while streaming an image of near comparable quality to the GamePad simultaneously? Must have even just the slightest hint of power.

Anyway, how much further can graphics develop in the next generation without crippling the industry and its economy? If the PS4/Xbox 720 went on to produce a 4k resolution, 90% of households wouldn't even have the appropriate screens to utilise this graphical capability, and the TVs capable of displaying such a high resolution would still be in their primetime. In short, both the consoles themselves and the required TVs would be bloody expensive.

I'm wise enough to acknowledge that the PS4 and Xbox 720 might upstage the Wii U power-wise in their initial revlation, but judging from the economic and industrial factors on decisions right now, it'd be best if they don't outdo themselves - powerful consoles are expensive to produce, and even more expensive to distribute to consumers and they won't be able to accomodate a loss. It's illogical. At best, I'm going to side with the early rumour that even the 720 will only be at most 20% more powerful than the Wii U.

All this speculation aside, I still think this article is quite silly (and the format even sillier). It's a primitive concept (the Wii U has already won the next gen before its competitors have even been confirmed an existence, really?) and a clear hit-bait. Trolls, uninformed fanboys and the likes are all barging in to passionately defend their companies with a barrage of insults over the Wii U, half of which are doting guesses and misinformation. The only way to determine which console will win the next-gen is to have all consoles released and competing side by side - and even then, I think as long as consoles are actively catering to their respective markets and making a significant profit, they're all winners.

[sway_z]

Let me start by stating I hope the Wii U is a success, as success is good for the game industry....

....but it is fool hardy & extremely presumptious to believe Wii U has already 'Won' .....

MS is going to market the pants off their next box, and in a more diluted way, and to some extent, so will Sony.

I see the Wii U as a snack between the main meal...whether to you that will be MS or Sony is a matter of personal choice.

For me it will be Sony as I have come to love their games...

Wii U will capture its desired audience and will sell very well....but shortterm gains are outweighed by the longterm that is the Xbox/PlayStation brand....

For proof, you only need look at the big boy developers (Rockstar, Konami, Capcom, Epic etc) to see where the real attention will be going....sadly it ain't the Wii U

Nintendo will have to 'Pony up' to the main developers to secure IP's ....but is the big N prepared to follow the xbox model?

Back in it's day ...Sony was renowned for making deals to secure the big games, yet Sony has a big enough development pool that they no longer need to do this....Nintendo pretty much rely on their own franchises....that is simply not enough for todays gamers.

[thetorontokid]

Here's the thing.... We have not seen any next gen games on the WiiU! And by next gen, I mean next generation builds of proven franchises and ip's. Like madden, FIFA, EA's NHL.... Call of Duty, battlefield, assassins creed. If the next gen Madden or Fifa can run on WiiU hardware, I'd consider it next gen. Until then it's just Nintendo's next console, which may or may not be able to play my favorite next gen GAMES, ! time will tell

[RFornillos4]

Wii U, being a successor to Wii legitimizes it being a next-gen console. It doesn't matter what specs it has, Nintendo could have put a 8086 processor in it and it will still be the next generation after the Wii.

if specs would be the only basis of "next-gen" then PC would be the ultimate console then. its generation changes so rapidly that as gamernova mentioned, PC has 4K capable graphic cards out now. if Sony/MS does support 4K with their next console, they will in fact be outdated consoles, as surely PC's would be way, way ahead. so who's next gen now?

I play games on my PC; but, i'm still getting me a Wii U. Coz it's next gen. has it won the battle? who cares? as long as you're happy playing those games in whatever platform you have, that's what matters.

[StrawHatPatriot]

I think Nintendo is using the perfect srtategy.

Release your console now, then wait for when the XBOX 720 and/or PS4 are announced, then release a Super Smash Bros. game, release an HD Zelda game with a lot of marketing, a Starfox game, and to ensure that the competitors don't do much, release a Pokemon MMO with a mass marketing campaign.

Then they've won the next-gen battle.

[Neko_Mega]

Can't win until the other teams show up.

[iHeartHelloKitty]

Better than Wii for sure. Can't wait for Christmas! YAY!

[Nac]

Don't you have to be Next-Gen to win a Next-Gen battle? ;)

[ozzywazzy]

The only battle they've won is the battle against the Wii.

[edwoods]

Well ok,... here's the issue:

Generation, first and foremost, is a useless and subjective term that can either refer to the numbered iteration in a companies console history, or it can mean the time frame of consoles competing against one another. If you choose the former, then microsoft is currently in the 2nd generation, otherwise they are in the 5th is the latter is chosen.

Now I personally go by the latter as well. Generation usually is referring what year frame that specific consoles are competing against one another. Ok im sure most of you already know this but many fools don;t think logically about it as I am doing right now.

Therefore, to understand what defines a next generation game, based on my above mentioned notion and opinon on the matter,we have to look at the technical specs. Why you ask? Why am I being a graphics whore you ask? Well, I'm not. But to rationalize buying a new console, one must have good reason to replace the old one. Well, that is always a factor of specs, whether you like it or not. In fact, if the nintendo fanboys think they are so polarized from bing graphic whores themselves, why dont they simply stick with the first wii? Why are they wanting the Wii U. Surely Nintendo could have made this new screen controller gimmick an add-on for the first Wii. So what is the true reason to justify buy this new wii U console? Because it has better graphics. Thats the only reason. The Wii U is to next gen what Wii was to current gen. A useless money making gimmicky scheme feeding off fanboy loyalty and grandmothers.

[ajax17]

Best Franchises!?! LOL!!! Most recycled franchises... Sorry friend, that goes to SONY.

[MasterCratosKong66]

Dumb article. But I would love it if the speculations from reason 1 came true. An open world pokemon rpg and super smash with good enough online play would be more than enough reason for me to get the Wii U. The latter of course is much more probable because we know they are working on it, but the prior seems like much more of a stretch.

Here's to hoping